They did it again . . .

Just because you haven't heard from ISIS doesn't mean they are going away.

No, in fact a small contingent of ISIS has taken up residence in Palmyra (Syria) recently.  Knowing that they were coming, locals worked hard to box up and ship out the historical artifacts of the area.  Palmyra is rich in archaeological finds and antiquities experts made sure that the most valuable treasures were hidden.

It seems ISIS has a habit of coming into a town, finding whatever is valuable and stealing it to resell it on the black market.  The items it can't use it destroys - claiming the artifacts are heretical to Islam.  So not only is ISIS beheading people but they are looting the ancient world as they gain more and more power in the Middle East.

Khaled al-Asaad, an 81 year-old antiquities expert was capture by the group and tortured. They tried to get information from him about where the treasures were hidden.  He never broke.  So in the last few days ISIS rounded up a few dozen people and charged him by the power of the Quran with conspiring with the Syrian government and beheaded him among the ruins he so dearly loved.  They hung his decapitated body on a Roman column with a sign around his waste pronouncing his charge for execution.

Then they destroyed several statues in the arena as well as the surrounding structures.

But do you know the most unnerving thing about all of this is?  

The top 10 things trending as of noon August 20th are:

1. Britney Spears
2. Nicki Minaj
3. Charlie Hunnam
4. Pierce Brosnan
5. VA lottery
6. Galaxy Note
7. Wiz Khalifa (this has me seriously shaking my head . . . the fact we even know this person makes me wonder if we deserve to be troubled by extremists)
8. The Beatles
9. Lady Gaga
10. Gold Prices

Here's hoping that we have sometime in the near future that one of the top ten trends read, "how to pray for peace in our troubled world."  We might see it there at some point - I just hope it doesn't take something tragic to get us there . . .